This digital photographic work Looks Like Sound? has been governed by a desire to explore sound in a visual form. Normally we can only see the ‘results’ of sound in the visual sense. The physical damage caused by sound such as a sonic boom that can crack the structure of buildings and cause glass to shatter; that is not to mention the harm caused to our hearing and mental stability.

 

Sound measurements are recorded with the use of precise scientific instruments that are able to interpret sound’s physical characteristics. They quantify fine differences in noise frequencies and sound pressures that the human ear cannot detect. I aim to create a sense of the unseen, re-presenting sound as visual imagery rather than a mathematical ‘portrait.’

 

In a series of experiments, images were generated using actual sound.  The broadband and tonal sounds of Jazz and Blues music manipulated, by sonic force, the visual materials present in the shots.  The result is seen in these visual abstracts. I have attempted to reflect some of sound’s qualities of a shifting force and vibrancy, its texture and sensuality. The use of red for instance was inspired by Matisse’s comment...”Red becomes a sound like a note escaping from a musical instrument”.

 

Sound, a vital everyday part of life, can be defined in multiple ways. It is a diverse energy with capacities to rupture our physical world. As a primary tool for living it connects us with our immediate environment: enabling us to make informed choices. A safeguard to our daily lives.  When our ability to tune into our sound world is displaced by various other (ambient) noise we can become isolated and detached from the here and now.  This interests me; this irony of how sound can isolate an individual and yet on the other hand, be a key tool for communication. A fine line runs between these two tensions and as a artist I am currently processing these images as elements of the conceptual dialogue for my photographic work; which is concerned with the place of sound in our everyday lives.

 

This art practice runs in association with my role in an acoustic consultancy.  With the help of my colleague and acoustical engineer husband, Peter Attwood, I am able to confer and discuss my ideas regarding the creation of this ongoing work.

Barbs Attwood Nov.’06